On Tuesday, July 22, the Gift-of-Life Mini Summer Marathon collected 376 pints of life-saving blood in one of the toughest months of the year to collect an adequate blood supply for the hospitals and patients the Red Cross serves.

I wish to thank the people of the greater Rutland area for their continued support and take this opportunity to apologize to those individuals who came to donate at the blood drive and either experienced a delay or were unable to donate due to a delayed start time.

Our staff members experienced some technical problems early on the morning of the drive. Immediate steps are being taken to mitigate these issues going forward. I apologize for the delayed opening of the blood drive. It was a challenging day, but the difficulties were overcome by teamwork and an amazingly dedicated community of donors.

I want to thank the volunteers who make blood drives such as this possible, and I particularly want to thank Steve Costello, vice president at Green Mountain Power, and Terry Jaye, program manager for Catamount Radio, who are the heart and soul of the Rutland Gift-of-Life blood drive. Their support and leadership has ensured the continued success of this semi-annual life-saving event.

Once again, a heartfelt thank-you to the people of the greater Rutland area. After last December’s Gift-of-Life Marathon record-breaking blood drive, where we collected more than 2,300 units of lifesaving blood, your community continues to defy the odds. I am always amazed at the dedication of the people of Rutland — for their pride of community service, but most important, to helping their fellow man. On behalf of the countless number of patients you have helped, thank you.